KARIMNAGAR: The Ministry of Women and Child Development has issued directives to the State Women and Child Welfare Department to conduct a thorough investigation into allegations of misuse of Rs 71.14 lakh sanctioned for the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) initiative in Karimnagar district.
Deputy director of the women and child department for BBBP, Rachana Bolimera, wrote to Bharati Holikeri, special secretary, of the department for women, children, disabled, and senior citizens, expressing her concern over the lack of action against erring officers for the past 17 months. In her letter, she urged for the recovery of misused funds from the officers responsible.
The matter came to light when BJP senior leader and advocate B Mahender Reddy filed a complaint with the Prime Minister’s Office regarding the alleged misuse of funds. Subsequently, the case was transferred to the BBBP wing for further investigation.
Speaking to the media, Mahender Reddy said that the Union government had allocated Rs 93.70 lakh for Karimnagar district for the years 2018-19 and 2019-20 to create awareness and safeguard the education of children under the BBBP scheme.
A total of Rs 71.14 lakh, was reportedly spent on activities such as wall writings, cultural events and online publicity to promote BBBP, as indicated in the service book. However, there was little evidence of the actual utilisation of these funds for their intended purposes.
An inquiry into the issue of misuse of funds was conducted by inquiry officer V Padmavati, who submitted her report to the State Women and Child Welfare Department on February 15, 2022. Despite the findings, no action has been taken against the officers responsible for the misuse of the funds.
The BJP leader called upon the state women and child welfare special secretary to take prompt and decisive action against the two officers involved in the alleged misappropriation of BBBP funds.